What If Things Were Different?
by JujutsuGirl
Summary: What if Sakura never met Syaoran? What if Meilin went to Japan in Syaoran's place and they became best friends? What if after 7 years, Syaoran is now being sent to Tomoeda to retrieve the cards because Sakura is dead?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Cardcaptors/Cardcaptor Sakura nor will I ever claim to

**Author's Notes**: I want to apologize in advanced for any names that I misspell, I'll be using the Japanese names even though I'm use to the American one (it the only version of the show that aired here in Canada). To prevent any mistakes, I'll be changing the Japanese custom of requiring permission from the person to use their first name (unless one of the characters has an issue with another character) and I don't understand the whole honorific thing either so I will not be using them . I'm sorry if this upsets anyone, if you have a better idea on how I can prevent misspelling the character's names let me know.

**Chapter 1**: So It Begins

A young woman of 17 was hiding in a closet waiting to hear news of their decision. She knew, from experience, that she shouldn't be snooping but this final decision would have a devastating impact on one of her best friend's life. She opened the closet door an inch just as 10 elderly gentlemen walked into the room.

The men took their seats around a circular table, looked at each other, and remained silent for the next 5 minutes. It was as if they were waiting for something to happen or for someone to arrive. It was during this time that the young woman remembered that she still had her cell phone in her pocket... on the loudest setting possible. She quickly and silently changed it to silent.

At long last, the person the men seem to have been waiting for walked in. He looked like he was the most senior member of the group, he was probably in his late 80s - early 90s but he was, at the same time, in amazing physical shape. He took his seat at the head of the table **_(A/N: you may be wondering how there can be a head position of a round table... well, this table did, it had the group's ceremonial decor and a mini podium to identify where the head of the table was located)_**, placed his documents in front of him. Without looking up or speaking to the other members, he reviewed the documents before him.

"We are here today to discuss the situation in Japan", he finally said as he finish reading and finally looked up to the other members.

The young woman in the closet listened carefully to what the man was saying.

"As we have discussed previously, the Cards have been without a Master for the past 4 years. We have decided to allow the Cards and their guardians time to morn the lost of their Master. The time has come for them to have a new owner, we cannot allow them to end up in the hands on an untrained person again, nor can we allow them to remain outside the clan any longer. It is time -", the elderly man was able to say before being interrupted by another member.

"Has the death of the previous Master been confirmed?", the interruptee ask.

At this the woman in the closet was shocked. She knew the Card Master. Okay, she didn't know the Card Master but that was only because he didn't exist_. _She knew the Card Mistress personally, in fact, she just talked to her 3 hours ago. _"What are they talking about? Sakura's not _dead_"_, she thought to herself.

"Yes, our contacts in near Tomoeda, Japan, have been insisting, that for the last 4 years, there has been not magical activity and that they have not been able to sense any kind of magical presence", the elderly man answered.

Again the woman was shocked. _"Didn't Sakura just tell about the strange occurrences had happened last week in Tomoeda? What was it that had she said... 'it was Eriol, you know how he is, it was his way of telling me he was back in town'. How is it that the clan Elders didn't know this? How come __their contacts can't sense anything in Tomoeda? GRRRR! Sakura what aren't you telling me_?", she mentally complained.

"So it is decided? We will send Li Syaoran to Tomoeda to retrieve the Cards", the eldest asked.

The others nodded in agreement while the young woman was horrified. _"CRAP!!!!! How am I going to tell Sakura that Syaoran is coming to take away her Cards??"_,she thought but only began to panic more as she mused on how Sakura was going to take the news. As the woman panicked, one of the elderly gentlemen stood and walked to the door. He opened it and spoke to someone in the hall; the young woman assumed that it must have been the butler, Wei. By the time the man had retaken his seat, there was a knock on the door.

"Enter", one of the men said.

A young man, the same age as the woman in the closet entered and closed he door. He had very striking features: tall (around 6'), muscular but not exaggerated like a body builder, messy dark brown hair, and chocolate coloured eyes. Looking very serious, he walked up to the open section of the table, bowed, and said: "You requested my presence, Xiao-Jian?"

"Yes, I have. Syaoran, it has been decided that you will go to Japan, specifically Tomoeda, to obtain the Clow Cards", Xiao-Jian stated.

Syaoran gave him a bewildered look and asked: "But don't the Card's already have a Master? Is it not said that once the Cards have a Master, they will listen to no other?"

Xiao-Jian: "Yes, this is true. However, the Card Master has been dead for 4 years, it is time they had a new Master. The Counsel of Elders have decided that you should be that Master."

Syaoran said nothing to this statement. _"4 years!!! Why the fucking hell didn't any one say anything to me???"_, he mentally yelled what he really wanted to say to the Counsel.

"You and Wei will leave tomorrow morning at 8, you will attend Seijou High School beginning September 1st. I will inform your mother that you and Wei will be leaving. Dismissed", that was all Xiao-Jian said.

Syaoran bowed, left the room, while thinking that he had to find Meilin because, if he wasn't mistaken, she had been there before 7 years ago and still kept in contact with some of her friends there. _"Maybe she can tell me who I should hang out with... Or maybe she'll finally tell me who the Card Master is since he's dead"_, he thought as he left the room.

"_Crap, now he's gonna be asking me a bunch of questions... Arg, he'll probably even ask about Sakura and the Cards... I really hate my life right now..."_, the woman in the closet thought as the Counsel of Elders left the room.

The young woman finally left the dark closet. She was of average height (5'4''), very toned, long black hair which she had pulled back into a ponytail, and the most unusually coloured eyes: red. She took a quick look around but found no one in the room. She crept over to the door and peaked out... no one was in the hall. She opened the door, walked out, and headed for the front door when she heard: "MEILIN!!!". She turned around to see who bellowed for her, it was Syaoran.

"WHAT?"

"I need to talk to you", he said.

"So you yell at me?", she said angrily

"Well... I didn't know where you were...", he said

"Well what ever it is, it's gonna have to wait", she said annoyed as she opened the front door.

Grabbing her wrist, he said: "No, it can't wait"

"Well too fucking bad", she said as she turned her palm upward to expose the weak point in his grasp **_(A/N: Where the fingertips and thumb meet)_**, snatching her wrist back from her cousin as she existed the mansion.

She managed to get into her car and drive halfway down the street before screaming in rage over how her cousin had just treated her. She decided that it would most definitely be a good idea to calm down before calling Sakura. After driving for a couple hours **_(A/N: Yes, it took her that long to calm down)_**, she ended up at a quiet and secluded park at the edge of town. Sitting down on a bench, she pulled out 2 cell phones: one was her personal cell and the other was a gift from Tomoyo to use in emergencies. The latter phone, for some unknown reason, didn't ever produce a bill: there were no airtime charges, no long distance charges, no texting charges. Somehow Tomoyo's mother, who owned a huge Japanese toy company, manage to get all charges waved for 4 phones (one for her, one for Tomoyo, one for Sakura, and one for Kero). She eventually, after much mental debate, decided that this chould be considered an emergency. She held it in front of her, dialed Sakura's emergency cell phone number, and placed the phone to her ear.

"Meilin! Are you okay? What happened?", came an anxious voice on the other end of the line.

"Sakura calm down, I'm fine"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

"Then why are you using your emergency cell?", the confused Sakura asked.

"Well.... you see..."

"Meilin, what is it? What happened?"

"Sakura... Is there something your not telling me? I mean about your magic or that is magic-related?"

"What? What does that have to do with what happened to you in Hong Kong?"

"Everything! I heard something interesting today... Apparently your dead and have been for the past 4 years."

"I'm WHAT???", Sakura shrieked.

"Ya, they said that it's because they can't sense you or any kind of magical activity in Tomoeda anymore."

"Oh... that... right...", Sakura said nervously. "Did I forget to tell you that Eriol showed me how to mask my aura and I just happen to, accidentally, figured out a way to cover up all magical activity in the city so that only Kero, Eriol, and I can sense it?"

"YOU WHAT?!?!?!?", Meilin yelled. "How could you just forget to tell me something like that?"

"Well, we figured that unless you came back, there was really no reason to tell you about it. But I guess we were wrong.", Sakura said before she quietly add: "I'm sorry"

"It's okay... I mean, that sort of makes sense...", Meilin said, now feeling bad about how she reacted.

"Meilin, I wish you were here so I could give you a HUGE hug", Meilin could almost feel her friend's smile on the other end of the line.

"Hahaha so do I"

Both girls were quiet for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to say next and wishing they could see each other again.

"So... W

ho told you I was dead anyway?", Sakura finally ended the silence.

"Well..."

"Meilin! You didn't..."

"Okay! I did! I was eavesdropping on the Counsel of Elders again!", Meilin admitted.

"You haven't changed, have you?", asked a laughing Sakura

Meilin rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment, even if no one was there to see it.

"ANYWAYZ... The head elder said that their contacts near Tomoeda couldn't sense you or any magic in Tomoeda and hadn't for 4 years... ", her voice trailed off.

"Meilin, tell me. What happened? What else did they say?"

"They're sending Syaoran to bring the Cards back here", Meilin sadly told her.

"You can't be serious? I thought you said that he was too eager to get the Cards and that's why they sent you to find them 7 years ago, even though you don't have magic?"

"Ya that's true, but now that they think you're dead... Sakura, they want him to become the new Master of the Cards!"

Meilin could tell that Sakura was completely shocked by this news, so she remained silent and allowed her friend to digest this information.

"Sakura..."

"Meilin, don't worry about me. I'll take care of this", Meilin could tell that Sakura didn't want her to worry about her because she could tell that Sakura was using her fake happy attitude. "What does he look like anyway?"

"Do you remember my facebook profile picture last month? The one with me and a guy at a fair?"

"Ya...oh you mean the one with you and that really cute guy?"

Meilin laughed at her and said: "Ya, that one."

"Okay, so what does that picture... That's HIM??"

"Ya..."

"Great. Prefect. Wonderful"

Meilin started to fidget on the bench. _"Great... How is she going to react when I tell her that Syaoran has a thing for her?"_, Meilin nervously thought. "Umm... Sakura..."

"Ya...", she answered in an almost defeated tone.

"There's more... You see, Syaoran... well he saw the pictures of you, Tomoyo, and Eriol that you and Tomoyo send me every month...", Meilin said and quickly add: "Don't worry I always hide the one's with Kero and Suppi"

"Meilin... What are you trying to tell me?"

"Sakura... Syaoran has this... a thing for you"

"What do you mean?"

"Well he saw your picture and then started to ask questions about you. You know: your name, what your like, stuff like that."

"Meilin did you tell him about my being the Card Mistress?"

"NO! I would never tell anyone about your secret"

"So then... Why is he so interested in me?"

"Do you honestly expect me to answer that?", she said as her normal cell rang. She looked to see who it was: it was Syaoran. "Look Sakura, I have to go. Syaoran is calling me. Do me a favour and be careful around him."

"You know I will."

They both said their goodbyes and hung up. Meilin answered her phone and said: "What do you want Syaoran?"

"We need to talk. I'm leaving tomorrow morning and I need to talk to you before then. Besides, you've been gone for 3 hours already and mom is getting worried about you"

"Fine. I'm on my way."

**Authors Notes**: Okay guys, this is my first fic so PLEASE let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Cardcaptors/Cardcaptor Sakura nor will I ever claim to

**Chapter 1 – Recap**

Meilin eavesdropped on the Counsel of Elders meeting, only to learn that Syaoran was going to Japan to retrieve the "Clow" Cards because they believe the Card Master is dead. She tells this to Sakura this and asks her to be careful.

**Chapter 2**: Meilin's Good Laugh and Cry

Syaoran was in his room getting ready to pack his suitcases; he was making sure that he had all the clothing and daily necessities he would need while in Japan, even if he could buy everything bran new when he got there. He liked his things and didn't want to have to buy new ones if he didn't need too. He also had to make sure that he had all his martial art (ceremonial robes, martial art uniforms, weapons, etc.) and magical (reference books, ofudas, and Rashinban) equipment.

He had everything laid out on his king-sized bed _**(A/N: okay, I know that it's a rather large bed but come on, I mean he IS rich)**_. While going through and gathering all his possessions, he kept thinking: _"I can't believe that I'm going to Japan to get the Clow Cards after all these years! But... I still don't understand... the Clow Book can only be opened by the most powerful magicians, so how did the new Clow Master die just 4 years after he opened the Book? Something doesn't make sense... I know Meilin knows something, I just need to get it out of her"_, he thought as an evil grin appeared on his face right before his entire face flushed from an embarrassing thought: _"I'm going to Tomoeda, Japan, tomorrow. That means that I'm finally going to meet Kimonoto Sakura!"_

He sat down on his bed in the only spot that wasn't covered with his clothes and belongings, covered his face with his hands to try to cool it down; not that helped as his next thought popped into his mind:_ "I wonder if she'd go out with me?"_. He stood up, still trying to calm himself down, walked to his closet, took out one of his suitcases, placed it on his bed, and opened it so that he could start his packing.

He had just picked up an armful of socks and underwear when he heard the door crash again the wall, followed by: "WHAT WAS SO FUCKING IMPORTANT THAT I HAD TO COME HOME RIGHT AWAY? YOU COULD HAVE JUST TOLD AUNT YELAN THAT I'D BE HOME LATER?", the door slammed shut as Meilin walked in.

Syaoran sighed, he knew that she was going to react like this especially after how he treated her earlier that day. _"This is just fucking fantastic! How is she going to react when I tell her that all I wanted was some advice on how I should expect life to change once I get in Japan"_, he thought with his eyes closed, which Meilin couldn't see because he had his back to her.

He turned around and gave her a small smile, he knew that if he glared or smirked at her, she would flip. Meilin, however, didn't trust him when he acted this way so she narrowed her eyes into a glare and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Hi Meilin", he simply said, stopping himself from frowning at her for the way she entered his room. He needed her in a good mood.

"DON'T YOU 'HI MEILIN' ME! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT??", she yelled

"Meilin, sit down and _please_ stop yelling before someone else comes barging in here to find out what your problem is this time.", he said causing Meilin to glare at him but she still took a seat at his desk.

"What do you want?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Aren't I allowed to have a civil conversation with my cousin?"

"No"

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't like that innocent tone.... you want something, don't you? That's the only time you use that tone of voice", she stated as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"_Crap! She knows me to way to well..."_, he thought. "Fine. I'm leaving for Tomoeda, Japan tomorrow morning and starting school there 3 days after I get there.", he said noting her expression.

Meilin has always been a good actress, so as soon as she heard him say Tomoeda, she widened her eye in false surprise and said: "Why are you going to Tomoeda? Is it because of the Cards? I thought that the Elders decided to leave the owner of the Cards alone?"

This time it was Syaoran's turn to narrow his eyes: _"She's acting too surprised. She's not telling me something. She knows more then she's letting on..."_, he thought before saying: "Ya, it's about the cards... The Elders want me to bring them back home."

Meilin gave him another fake expression, this time it was confusion: "What do you mean 'they want you to bring them home'? I thought the Cards only obey their owner?"

"Ya, but that's only true if the Card's Master is alive... From what the Elders told me, the Card Master has been dead for 4 years...", Syaoran said. He only told her because he wanted to see how she would react. _"Man! She's doing a good job... She's even crying"_, he thought. He hadn't thought that telling her that would make her cry, she's not that good of an actress. He got up, walked over to her, and gave her a hung while saying: "I'm sorry. I know the Master of the Cards was a friend of yours... I thought you knew he died"

Through her sobs, she managed: "No... no one told me...". Meilin really wasn't crying because of what Syaoran had said about Sakura but because she had finally cracked from all the tension and shock from hearing that she was dead then finding out that she wasn't telling her everything like she use to. She cried for a couple more minutes before she was calm enough to was able to whip away her tears. "Sorry"

"It's okay"

Meilin was still red faced and puffy-eyed when she asked: "Why did you tell me that?"

"I'm sorry, I really didn't know that it would upset you that much.", Syaoran hesitated before continuing: "Meilin... I... I need your help."

She looked at him in disbelief. "_You're_ asking _me_ for _help_? Are you feeling alright?", she said as she brought her hand to his forehead to check his temperature.

He pushed her hand away and said: "Yes and no, I'm not sick."

"Then why are you asking me for help? You _never _ask for help from _anyone_."

"Look, I need you to tell me who... the Card Master was.", he said. "I know he was a friend and you made a promise not to tell anyone but... please tell me."

Meilin gave him a disgusted look and shrieked: "You've gotta be fucking kidding me!! I just found out that my friend is dead and you're asking me who my friend is so you can take something that belonged – no – a _huge_ and _important_ part of that person's life? Christ, Syaoran! I didn't know you were so fucking cold hearted!"

"No... Meilin... I'm sorry that didn't come out the way I'd intended"

"I don't _fucking_ care!! I'm not telling you!! I'm not going to make it easier for you to steal from my friend even if that friend it _dead_!! I made a promise Syaoran, a fucking promise! I promised that I wouldn't tell anybody, _ANYBODY;_ not you, not my best friend, not anybody. I don't care if my friend is dead, I made a promise and I have no intend of breaking it!", she angrily stated while inwardly smirking at his naivety and thinking: _"That did it! He won't suspect Sakura anymore especially since he knows that Sakura is my best friend but what he doesn't know is that she's not my only best friend in Tomoeda. God! I really don't like lying to him but... Sakura doesn't need anymore complications in her life."_

"Okay, I get it.", Syaoran said raising his hands in defeat. "I just thought that you might be willing help me out so I can come home sooner."

Meilin just glared at him. It wasn't the first time that he tried to get this information out of her and she doubted that it would be the last.

"So... You've been to Tomoeda before. Is there anything I should know or need or... I don't know...", their previous topic and Meilin's reaction to it made Syaoran feel awkward and embarrassed because he no long knew how to ask her about Sakura.

Meilin was trying her best not to laugh at him, she knew what he was trying to ask, but she said: "Not really. As long as you've brushed on your Japanese you'll be fine"

Syaoran gave her a look before saying: "You know that's not what I meant"

Meilin was now having a really hard time keeping a straight face but she gave him an angelic expression while saying: "Syaoran, I honestly don't know what you're talking about". Meilin loved seeing him squirm, it was even better when she knew the reason why he was squirming.

Syaoran was completely red now and rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I meant.... I m-mean...."

That did it! Meilin burst into a fit laughter. She couldn't take it anymore, teasing him was just too easy. She was laughing so hard that she fell to the floor holding her stomach and was in tears. Syaoran had turned bright red, started shifting his weight from foot to foot, and was extremely confused. It took Meilin a lot longer to calm down than the last time but she eventually did.

"S-s-sorry", was all she managed to say.

Syaoran glared at her. "You mean that you knew what I was talking about?"

Meilin started laughing again but was able to nod her head.

"Then what's so funny?", Syaoran was now getting annoyed with her.

Still laughing a little, she said: "Do you honestly think that Sakura's going to go out with you?"

Syaoran was hurt by her brutalness especially on this topic. "Well... Maybe not right away..."

"Awww... sweet, innocent, little Syaoran", with that, she headed to the door and opened it. But before closing the door behind her, she said: "By the way, Syaoran. Good luck,... You'll need it.", she then quietly add: "In more ways than one", taking one last look at Syaoran's pricelessly confused face, she waved goodbye, and closed his door.

"_What the hell was that about? What did she mean by 'Good luck... You'll need it. In more ways than one'?"_, he thought while scratching his head.

He shrugged and decided to try decrypting Meilin's words later. He just continue his packing while hoping – no – praying that he would succeed. By the time he was done packing it was 2 hours and 4 suitcases later _**(A/N: Okay, I know it took him a long time to finish packing but think about it: he's has a lot of stuff and he's something of a perfectionist)**_. He looked at his watch only to be shocked that it was 1 am, Friday morning. _"Crap!! I need to leave by 6 to catch my 8 o'clock flight. Argggg I need to get some sleep."_

Syaoran moved the clothes he was planning to wear the next day – well, later on that morning – to his desk chair, stripped down to his boxers, and climbed into his bed.

What Syaoran didn't know was that Meilin had called both Sakura and Tomoyo after she left Syaoran's room. She called Sakura first and told her everything especially the part about Syaoran's plan to ask her out. That last part shocked Sakura into silence before she laughed her ass off. Meilin then called Tomoyo shortly after, she filled her in on what happened with the Elders and her conversation with Sakura earlier that day then told the same thing she had just Sakura. Tomoyo was another one of Meilin and Sakura's best friends, they were like the 3 musketeers, the 3 of them were like the keepers of Sakura's secret. She had the same reaction as Sakura. After talking to Tomoyo for a little while longer, Meilin was finally able to go to bed.

Checking the clock as she climbed into bed, she noted that it was nearly 12 am. She set her alarm for 5 so that she could go to the airport to see Syaoran off and maybe – just maybe – she might give him some advice on what to expect when he reaches Tomoeda.

**Author's Notes**: I would like to thank all those who reviewed Chapter 1. I would also like to tell you guys that as soon as school starts up again, I won't be able to update very often, I might update one more time before school starts again. Please let me know what you think about this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Cardcaptors/Cardcaptor Sakua

**Author's Notes**: I want to apologize for being MIA the last 5+ months, I've been dealing with a huge course load, 3 jobs, and graduation. Now that those are all done, well the course load and graduation, I'm hoping to be able to update more frequently. I hope you like it.

**Chapter 2 Recap**: Syaoran was packing his bags the night before heading to Japan. He finally had his talk with Meilin who he ended up making cry when he asked who the Master of the Cards was, because he was dead, and laugh when he was trying to ask, indirectly, how to get Sakura to go out with him (they still haven't met). Meilin, after leaving Syaoran to finish his packing and telling him good luck, called Sakura and Tomoyo to let them know exactly what was going on.

**Chapter 3 - Stress Release  
**

_**~ Same Day in Japan ~**_

__A young woman was sitting on her bed just having hung up her cell phone. The auburn haired, emerald-eyed beauty was upset – no – raging. The 17 year old had just been told, by one of her best friends, 2 things: 1) she was apparently dead, and 2) her friend's family elders have decided that they were sending someone to take her most prized possessions away from her, the Sakura Cards.

The girl stood up revealing her full height, 5'1". Okay, so her full height isn't much, she's vertically challenged and she came to terms with that long ago. She tossed her phone on her bed and gave a small growl of frustration. She grabbed her pink gym bag and headed for her bedroom door only to have it crash open before her.

"Sakura! What's wrong? I heard you yell, you never yell", said a small, floating, and very worried creature. It appeared to be a small yellow teddy bear with white wings and a lion's tail.

"Nothing Kero, just get out of my way"

"Sakura? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Now move"

"_What's wrong with her? I haven't seen her this upset since she captured the Snow card"_, this was all Kero had the time to think before being swatted aside by Sakura, something she has never done before. She pushed him so hard that Kero landed face-first into the wall causing him to fall to the floor in pain. Sakura left the room with so much as an "I'm sorry" and slammed her door shut, leaving poor Kero to tend to his own wounds.

Sakura was trying to remain as calm as possible or at least until she could get out of the house. She managed to reach the main door, slip on her snickers, and grab her purse when she heard: "Sakura, what happened to Kero?"

Sakura froze. Her father, Fujitaka Kimonoto, had caught her trying to sneak out before anyone noticed her foul mood. "Ya, I do", was all she said.

Sakura's father knew about Kero, or Keroberos in his true form, and Yue who are her guardians and the guardians of the Sakura Cards. He accidentally found out when she was trying to catch the Libra Card which can make anyone tell the truth about anything _**(A/N: Okay, I know The Libra wasn't caught during the show but I figured that this would be the easiest way for him to find out about Sakura's magical abilities and everything associated with them)**_, the Libra Card kind of made her blurt out her secret but, surprisingly, there was no punishment for hiding this from him, instead there were a lot of questions to be answered. This, of course, meant that Kero had more freedom around the house but it still meant that he had to be careful around Touya, Sakura's brother, who still didn't know about him and the Cards_**(A/N: or so she thinks....)**_.

"And what happened to him?", her father asked as he came down the stairs with a whimpering Kero on his shoulder.

"He wouldn't get out of my way so I pushed him a little so I could get through the door and I guess he hit the wall", she said without the remorse she would feel if she wasn't so angry.

"Aren't you going to see if he's alright?"

"No"

"What's wrong, Sakura?", he asked. Her father was now getting rather concerned because his daughter never acted so cold hearted.

"Nothing! I'm going out!", she practically yelled before wrenching the door open and slamming it shut behind her. What Sakura didn't hear was the end of the conversation between her father and Kero regarding her behaviour.

"I hope she's going to be okay..."

"Why? What do you know?" her father questioned.

"Not much... just that she go a call on her emergency phone"

"The one that only Tomoyo, Meilin, and you have the number for?"

"Ya... and it must have been Meilin because I was just talking to Tomoyo", said the defeated little flying teddy bear.

"Is Meilin okay? Sakura wouldn't lose control like this if she didn't have a good reason"

"I don't know but I think I should call Meilin and find out what's going on"

_**~ Back to Sakura ~**_

She angrily unlocked the cherry blossom pink convertible _**(N/A: the top was on the car)**_ and shoved her gym bag in before climbing in after it. She jammed the key in the ignition, started the car, put her seat belt on, hit the button that put the top down, and backed out of the drive way. As she drove down the street, a person seem to materialize in the passenger seat. This person isn't not ordinary person, she was different, she's magical. This woman was no ordinary magical being, she was the Fight Card. As Sakura drove, the appearance of the Fight Card changed thanks to the Illusion Card. The Fight now look like a normal person.

The control and the new ways of using the cards that she had developed over the years, always amazed Sakura. As she glanced to the right, at the woman in the passenger seat, and thought: "Wow! I'm getting good at this". She gave the Fight a small smile and returned her gaze to the road before her.

Sakura's magical abilities have increase dramatically since she first discovered them when she was 10. She was not only able to control and use the cards in was that not even their creator Clow Reid could, e.g., using them without her staff and her voice, but was now able to perform spells that reach far beyond Clow magic. She has also created many of her own cards, including: The Doc, The Calm, and The Dance.

Sakura finally pulled up in front of a Dojo. Actually, this particular Dojo is one that she frequently visited over the past 7 years, sometimes 3-4 times a day. She parked the car, grabbed her bag, and both she and the Fight got out. Walking up to the front door, she was greeted by the Dojo's main Sensei: "Hello Sakura, I see you have new sparring partner."

Sakura bowed and said: "Sensei Hideo. I was wondering if we could use your Dojo today?"

Sensei Hideo Kondo was an elderly man, who stood not much taller than Sakura and had a belly. But Sakura was not fooled by his appearance. She learned very fast, actually the day that she met him, that he was faster and a much better fighter than his appearance leads people to believe. He kindly smiled and said: "How could I say no to my best and most frequent student?".

Sakura smiled at this and said her thanks. Before she and the Fight managed to make it through the Dojo doors, Sensei Kondo called after her: "I must step out for a while. Could you lock up when you are finished? And please don't hurt this partner."

Sakura smiled again and said: "I can lock up if your not back before we're done", she was about to turn and go into the Dojo when she finally registered what he had said. "When had I even hurt one of my partner?"

Sensei Kondo only laughed as he started to was towards his care. Sakura managed a "Be careful" just before he closed the car door.

When Sakura finally entered the Dojo, she headed for the changing rooms. Once she changed into her training outfit, a pink sports bar/tank top _**(N/A: not really sure what those tops are called)**_ and black gi _**(N/A: a gi is a martial art uniform)**_ pants, she bowed onto the tatames, walked to where the Fight was waiting. They bowed to each other and took a battle ready position.

_**(N/A: I'm not going to describe the training session because if I did, this chapter would be ridiculously long. If you want to know the gist of the training session let me know)**_

_**~ 2 hours later ~**_

Sakura and the Fight were still training/fighting and Sensei Kondo had still not returned. As the two fight, they failed to notice the lone figure enter the Dojo. She stood taller than Sakura at 5'6" but did not have the same physic. She was not as active as Sakura which resulted in a more curvy form. She had long, waist length hair which was almost black but not... The color of her eyes were revealed when she finally removed her sunglasses, they were the same color as amethyst stones. The most peculiar thing about her wasn't that she entered a closed Dojo but the fact that she was filming the two women who where sparring.

She stood there filming for a few minutes before she asked: "Sakura, who are you fighting?"

"Tomoyo?", said the completely stunned Sakura.

The appearance of Tomoyo and she question distracted Sakura, this allowed the Fight to land one good roundhouse punch to the cheek and an attempted knee to the stomach which Sakura managed to block at the last second. She gave the Fight a look that signified the end of training and bowed to her, this allowed her and the Illusion to transform back into cards.

Tomoyo worriedly ran over the Sakura, "Sakura!! I'm SO sorry. Are you okay?"

Sakura smiled at her and nodded saying that she was indeed alright.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Kero called me and told me what happened earlier."

Sakura's smile disappeared and looked at her feet. Despite how she felt at the time, she now felt terrible about how she reacted.

"Sakura, go get cleaned up and changed. We can talk when you're done", Tomoyo smiled at her kindly and encouragingly.

Sakura went into the changing room but was now feeling kind of depressed and lazy so she pulled out her cards. She shuffled through them until she found the two that she was looking for: the Fresh and the Guise. The Fresh is used to refreshen a person's cleanliness and the Guise allows for a quick change in clothing or hair style. Sakura packed her things in her bag and was back in the main dojo in less than a minute.

Tomoyo, who was waiting for her by the door, seemed unofazed at the speed at which Sakura changed. She smiled and told her that Sensei Kondo had just returned and not to bother locking up. Outside, Sakura was lead to Tomoyo's a purply-blue sports car. They both got in and drove towards Tomoyo's mansion. If they had stayed a little longer they would have seen the Mirror climb into Sakura's car and drive it back to her house.

_**~ Tomoyo's Mansion ~**_

Tomoyo is a very skilled and rich (her mother is the owner of the largest toy company in all of Asia) young woman. She was excellent in photography and film, as well as fashion and design. Those skilled came in handy during Sakura's card capturing days and during her more recent magical adventures. However, what Tomoyo was most skilled at was reading Sakura. She had managed, within a few minutes of arriving, to get Sakura to tell her everything.

"Why aren't you surprised?"

"About what? That they think you're dead?", Sakura simply nodded. "Because Sakura, even Eriol has said that he can sense you unless you let him. He even said that he should never have thought you that skill, because he can never find you or knows where you are"

This made Sakura laugh as she remembered the last time she managed to sneak up and scared the living daylights out of Eriol. "I guess you're right... I should have expected this".

"So... do you know what you're going to do when you meet him?"

"Who? Meilin's cousin?"

"Who else would I mean? Izanagi Nakajima?"

Laughing, she said: "Next time I see him, I'm going to set things straight. But I have no idea of what to do about Meilin's cousin besides making sure that he doesn't find out that I'm still alive and not handing over the cards."

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes before saying: "What do you mean 'set things straight'?"

"Well...um... He's been...", she nervously stated.

"He's been trying to get into your pants again, hasn't he?"

"You don't have to put it that way! But... he has been pushing me to have sex with him..."

"You know, Sakura, if he really loved you like he says...", Tomoyo calmly managed to say before Sakura interrupted her.

"I know, Tomoyo", the simple statement held so much emotion. "Next time I see him, I'm going to do like I said 'set him straight'. I think it might be best if we were just friends."

Tomoyo looked at her best friend with concern. "Are you sure you two can be just friends?"

"Of course we can", she said with a smile, "so long as he doesn't make it awkward, we can be friends"

Sakura stayed a little long but soon decided that it would be best if she went home. She did, after all, have to apologize to her dad and Kero for her earlier behaviour.

_**~ Later that night in Sakura's room ~**_

The lights were out and the occupant of the room was sound asleep in her bed, but not for long. She is startled awake by a ringing cell phone that was resting next to her pillow. Sakura looked at the caller ID: Meilin.

"Hello", she sleepily said.

"Sakura, did I wake you up?"

"Ya... but don't worry about it", Sakura yawned before continuing, "What can I do for you?"

"Well....", and Meilin proceeded to inform her of her encounter with Syaoran and how he asked he for advice on getting her to go out with him. "So that's what happened".

"You have got to be kidding me! He seriously asked you that?"

"He did", Meilin assured her. "Look Sakura, I have to get up early to see him off but.... be careful around him. He's not stupid. One wrong word, one miss step, or an odd behaviour could lead him to figuring out who you are."

"Don't worry Mei. I'll be fine. Tomoyo's going to help me and I'm sure that Eriol will too when he comes back from England."

"If you say so... I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, night", she said with a smile.

"Night"

Sakura hung up she phone and placed back next to her pillow. She tried to go back to sleep but it seemed to elude her more than before. She eventually fell back asleep after an hour but it was a very restless slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Cardcaptors/Cardcaptor Sakua

**Author's Notes**: Sorry folks, I've been super busy with school and work.

**Chapter 4: The Meeting**

_**~ The Next Morning 6 AM ~**_

A lone person could be seen running down the semi-dark streets of Tomoeda. This person had long their long hair in a high ponytail, it appeared to be auburn, and was wearing a sport tank top which looked pink and black running shorts. When the runner made it to the near by street lamp, she stopped. Sakura reached inside one of the many hidden pockets that her best friend, Daidouji Tomoyo, had integrated into the design, and pulled out her pink cell phone.

Before answering, Sakura checked caller ID. "Tomoyo, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, um….. Sakura, I know that this is your workout time but…..could you possibly pick Eriol up for me?" Sakura could hear the a little nervousness in Tomoyo's voice.

"Why can't you do it?"

Sakura hadn't waited for an answer, before she turned and started heading home. She knew that it didn't matter what Tomoyo's reason was, she would do anything for her – well anything within reason, anyway.

"Well… He... He just called me and… and…. His plane lands in an hour and there is no way that I'm going to make it the Tokyo airport in time… And I... I know that you can make it there on time if you use the cards…."

"Tomoyo, it's okay. I'll pick him up", Sakura was almost half-laughing at how guilt her friend sounded. "I need to talk to him anyway…..wait…wasn't he suppose to be in England until next week?"

"Ya... he was but, I don't know, maybe he just missed me too much", Sakura gagged at the gooeyness of Tomoyo's voice when she said this. "Sakura, make sure you bring him right over, don't even let him drop his stuff off at his place, got it?"

Laughing at her impatient friend, she said: "Yes, ma'am"

"Good Lord! It's 6:20! Stop talking and get over there!", with that Tomoyo hung up leaving a laughing Sakura on the other end of the line.

_**~ 30 Minutes Later ~**_

Sakura looked at the reflection in the mirror as she put the finishing touches on her hair; she didn't do anything fancy with it, she never did, it was only a simple ponytail. When she was finished with her hair, she stepped back and looked at the total effect. She was wearing black cargo style pants, and a pink tank top over a green one; all of which were designed by Tomoyo. To top the outfit off, she wore pink Birkenstock sandals, the traditional style **(A/N: I love Birks they probably one of the most comfortable sandals I have EVER owned, I highly recommend them)**.

Looking at the clock , she smiled as she still had 10 minutes before the plane was scheduled to land which meant that she wouldn't have to do much in way of magical cover-up. She picked up the single card that she had placed on her bed as she was getting ready: The Piggyback. The card showed 2 kids, one piggybacking the other. The Piggyback allowed the user to change into magical essence so that they can be ferried from one point to another using the surrounding environmental magic in the blink of an eye. Without using her wand or saying the name of the card, she disappeared.

When she opened her eyes she was in a locked bathroom stall of a public washroom. Unlocking the stall, she walked out, went to the sink, and washed her hands. She didn't want anyone to think that she had just used the washroom and didn't wash up after… After drying her hands, she opened the bathroom door and walk out into the crowed airport.

When Sakura finally managed to find the terminal, everyone on the plane had already disembarked. As she started looking around for her friend, she bumped into several people and only muttering a simple "sorry" without even looking at the poor people she had walked into. She looked for Eriol for another 5 minutes, and with each second passing she was getting more and more worried that she was at the wrong terminal, that she had missed him and he took a taxi home, that he missed his flight, or that he was hurt somewhere and lying in a ditch. When she was just about ready to reach in her pocket to call him to ask – more like demand – where he was, she spotted him collecting his luggage.

She smiled as she began a half-run to him when she collided with someone... A very solid and muscular someone with very fast reflexes as her body didn't even have enough time to begin it's backward fall. Opening her eyes, Sakura immediately began to apologize as she looked up at the person she ran into.

"Sor...", She began but stopped as soon as she realized who she ran into.

Her shock, though it lasted a couple of seconds, immediately replaced with a glare.

"Let me go!", she stated with a good shove against her _savior's_ chest.

The man who had prevented her from falling just looked at her. He really didn't care that she was being absurdly rude, he only cared that it was _her_ and that she was in _his_ arms. Her shove caused him to release her and stumble back a little.

As soon as he released her, Sakura pushed past him with one last glare, and ran with a smile to another man who had just finished collecting his bags.

Syaoran just stood there watching her run toward his new friend, Hiiragizawa Eriol. "_That... That was Kimonoto Sakura!_", he thought still stunned by this turn of events. He hadn't even been in Japan for 5 minutes and he's already met AND held her in his arms, even if it was only for 30 seconds. _"Wait... I thought that Eriol said that his girlfriend's name was Daidouji..."_, he thought, now very confused. He watched as Sakura launched herself into Eriol's arms, laughing.

Despite her little run in with her, now, worst enemy, Sakura was ecstatic that Eriol was back. And she told him so.

"Eriol! I'm so glad you're back!"

"Haha. Hi Sakura", was all Eriol managed to say before Sakura grabbed one of his bags and began pulling him toward the public bathrooms which were conveniently located near the airport entrance.

Laughing, Eriol asked her to "hold up a sec."

Sakura stopped, let go of his arm, and asked: " What is it? What's wrong?"

Smiling, Eriol said: "Nothing, I just wanted you to meet a new friend of mine. I know that you two will become fast friends".

"Who is it?"

Eriol was one hundred percent sure that she didn't sound too excited about meeting someone new. _"I wish things had turned out differently"_, he thought sighing. He put a smile on his face and guided her over to Syaoran, who was still standing in shock where Sakura had left him.

Sakura's eye's widened with surprise which was then covered up with another glare. She stopped in her tracks causing Eriol to stop. He knew that something was wrong and that she was going to talk to him about it before meeting Syaoran... He just didn't know if it was going to be verbally or a magical conversation of the minds.

"Sakura? What's the matter?"

She turned to Eriol and thought: _"Are you crazy?"_

Eriol looked back at her and thought: _"No... Why do you ask?"_

"_Do you know who that is?"_

"_Yes, that's Li Syaoran. Meilin's cousin."_

"_Right. Do you know why he's here?"_

"_He said something about his family wanting him to complete his senior year abroad, and since Meilin liked it here so much he decided to come here too."_

Sakura nearly laughed out loud without mirth before replying: _"That's not why he's here. He's here because of the cards. His family... clan... what ever they are think that I'm dead because they can't sense any magic in Tomoeda, so they sent Dipshit over there to take them."_

Eriol looked stunned but quickly covered it up with a smiley.

"Come on. I get it but I promised him a ride to his new home."

"You what?"

With Sakura now in a state of shock, Eriol quickly guided her to Syaoran and conducted the introductions.

"Syaoran, this is one of my best friend's, Kimonoto Sakura. Sakura, this is Meilin's cousin, Li Syaoran."

Holding out his hand, Syaoran said with a smile, "Nice to finally meet you Meilin talks about you all the time; all of it good of course."

Sakura snapped back to reality when Syaoran held his hand in her direction and glared at him once again.

"I can't say the same", was all she said to him. Without taking her glare away from Syaoran, she said: "Eriol, I'm going to get my car." And she left the two men watching her retreating figure, dumbfounded.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Cardcaptors/Cardcaptor Sakua

**Author's Notes**: Sorry folks, I've been super busy with school and work.

**Chapter 5:**

_**~ The Drive Home ~**_

True to her word, Sakura had gone to get her car, though not in the conventional sense as she hadn't actually driven it to the airport. She actually had to do some pretty fancy spell work so that it wouldn't look weird or suspicious when a pink convertible appeared out of thin air. She had it all worked out; she needed people to:

Believe that she left her house with it

See it on the highway

See her driving it into the airport parking lot

See her walking into the airport through the front doors and head to the washroom

So really, all she needed to do was use Create, Illusion, Big, Twin, and her most recent creation, Memory to make all of this happen. First she use Create and Illusion together to make people believe the story. Then she used Big and Twin to multiply it so that it would reach anyone who would have been out in the last hour. Finally, she used Memory, which looked like a little boy who seemed to have forgotten something and was dress in a green school uniform, to imprint all the illusion into all of those people's memories. _**(A/N: Sakura managed to do all this without her wand or taking out the cards so it didn't look suspicious)**_

Once all of the magic spell work was finished, Sakura opened the car door, which was now parked in front of the airport main entrance, got in and shut the door behind her. As she was putting in the keys to start the engine, the two boys had just exited the building. One looked utterly surprised that she had already managed to bring the car around, while the other looked simply amused by the whole situation.

Sakura, although very glad her friend was home, glared at him. _"What the fuck are you smiling at? This isn't funny."_

Eriol simply shook his head and smiled at her as he began loading his bags into the trunk her car. As he got into the front passenger chair, he leaned in close to Sakura and said: "Play nice, he'll make a very useful and powerful ally."

All she could do was mutter a "Who cares" back as she started the engine. But then, Eriol noticed her smirking mischievously. Looking around the car, he didn't see anything out of place. He was just about to ask her what she was up to when he lost his chance, Syaoran had just gotten into the backseat, and they were off.

The car ride from the airport was far from comfortable for Syaoran for 3 reasons:

He couldn't figure out what it was that he had done to insult, offend, upset or whatever the hell it was that he did to make Sakura dislike him... even before there was any actual interaction between them. He thought for a second that maybe Meilin had said something to her but he couldn't think of anything that she could have possibly said to her.

Sakura had made him sit in the very small backseat with a lot of the extra luggage that he didn't seem to remember bringing or see Eriol bring with him out of the airport _**(A/N: if you remember all of their bags were placed in the truck :p)**_.

The SILENCE. Sakura refused to talk to him and Eriol seemed a little preoccupied with God knows what.

Syaoran liked silence as much as the next person but 30 minutes with nothing but wind... He couldn't use it iPod because it was safely tucked away in his carryon with was in the truck and Sakura hadn't even turned the radio on and to be honest he was a little scared to ask her about it. He wanted her to like him and he didn't want to do ANYTHING to piss her off more. So after 30 minutes of silence, Syaoran had finally had enough.

"Hey, Eriol."

Eriol snapped out of his reveries what a: "Huh? Wha-?"

"I had a couple of questions about Tomoeda. I figured that now would be a good time to ask since we seem to have the time...", Syaoran said as he tried to shift himself in a more comfortable position.

"Ah... ya sure", was all Eriol could say as he watched Syaoran trying to shift around unsuccessfully. Eriol knew immediately why Syaoran was so cramped. Eriol managed to send a quick glare to Sakura before Syaoran continued.

Both Sakura and Syaoran caught the glare but each had a different reaction. Sakura only smirked at the look, knowing exactly what it was for. Syaoran was surprised at the exchanged and didn't understand it. He just chalked it up to years of friendship which often leads to silent communication.

"First, how much longer to I have sit back here?"

This question sent Sakura into a silent fit of laughter, earning her another glare from Eriol. "Well... we've been on the road for what? 40 minutes? So we won't be reaching Tomoeda for another 30", as Eriol said this he glanced back at Syaoran, who looked extremely uncomfortable, then looked at Sakura before continuing with a smile, "We could switch places if you want?"

"No"

Both males looked at Sakura and asked: "Why?"

"Because I'm not pulling over so you guys can switch places".

"Why not?" Though Syaoran was thinking it, it was Eriol who asked the question.

Sakura smiled and glance at him and simply said: "girlfriend".

That shut Eriol up but left Syaoran very curious. "Girlfriend? Who's? Your girlfriend Eriol?"

"Yes"

"Didn't you say she was really sweet and nice?"

"Oh, she is", he said with a smile. "But they're the ones that you have to listen and obey."

"Okay...", Syaoran really wasn't sure what he meant by that but let it go.

5 more minutes of silence followed, but this time it was Eriol to broke it. "Didn't you have questions about Tomoeda?"

"Oh ya... umm... what's it like Tomoeda? Living there I mean?"

"Well... I guess it depends on who you make friends with."

"What do you mean?"

"Life in Tomoeda is quiet for the most part, which means that anything exciting would depend almost 100% on who your friends are."

"I see... What about Seijou High School? What kind of sports teams do they have?"

"Pretty much everything... Didn't you mother tell you anything about the school she enrolled you in?"

"Nope. She told me that I was moving here last night and that I would be starting school on Monday morning?"

"Seriously?", was all the shocked Eriol could say.

Sakura on the other hand was not shocked at all. She has known Yelan for years and this was exactly the sort of thing she would pull on Syaoran. In fact, she had done it multiple times whenever Sakura had been at their Hong Kong mansion.

"Sakura? Who are you dropping off first? Me or Syaoran?"

"Him", was all she said.

Ignoring Sakura's extreme rudeness, Eriol turned back to Syaoran: "We'll be in Tomoeda in a couple of minutes. Where are you staying?"

"Umm...", was all he said as he searched his pocket for the address. "523 Peony Lane".

That shocked Sakura and Eriol. 523 Peony Lane is the house located next to Sakura's place. Eriol was the first to say anything: "I thought you said your mom got you an apartment?"

"She did, why?"

Sakura shot Eriol the _"don't you dare say anything"_ look.

"Because there aren't any apartments on that road", was all Eriol revealed much to Sakura's relief and Syaoran's confusion.

"Oh... so-", was Syaoran managed to say before his head made contact with the back of Eriol seat.

Sakura had hit the breaks so


End file.
